Spanish society is dissatisfied with the amount of taxes it pays in relation to the benefits it receives in exchange. Although the majority (59%) think that taxes are necessary so that the State and its different administrations can provide services, the same percentage of citizens considers that they give more to the public coffers than they receive from them. Only 9% believe that they benefit. This is clear from a recent survey by the Center for Sociological Research (CIS).
The study, which analyzes the opinion of Spaniards on the payment of taxes and their use, reveals that 19% of those surveyed see the payment of taxes as “a means to better redistribute wealth”, although 48% affirm that benefits “little or nothing” from this citizen obligation. On the other hand, 49% believe that society gains a lot or a lot from the current tax model, while a similar percentage – 48% – thinks it loses.
Paying taxes is an unpopular duty for more than a third of citizens, since 38% assert that many taxes are paid, while 48% consider that the tax level is “regular”, and 11% affirm that the The amount of money paid for this purpose is low.
Be that as it may, the vast majority (77%) say that there is no tax justice in Spain, compared to almost 20% who believe that taxes are charged fairly. In this sense, nearly 71% prefer that tax collection be carried out through direct taxes such as the Personal Income Tax (IRPF), that is, based on the income or wealth of the individuals. people. In contrast, 23% are more in favor of collecting it mainly through indirect taxes such as VAT.
Another notable aspect of the survey is that 78% of Spaniards see taxes as a necessary tool for the State to guarantee public services or redistribute wealth, and only 20.3% speak of them as “something ” that the State forces to pay “without knowing very well in exchange for what.”
The survey, for which 3,011 interviews were carried out between July 26 and 31, also analyzes the public’s perception of tax fraud. From the results it is concluded that the vast majority (89%) think that in Spain there is “a lot or quite a lot” of tax fraud. Respondents attribute this problem to the fact that those who have the most avoid or minimize paying taxes” (22%), lack of honesty and civic awareness (18%) and to the fact that salaries are too low and it is necessary to obtain other options to get money (16%).
